April Must Haves!

I haven’t had much of a chance to blog this month, and with no blogging has also come to no new makeup either! I cannot actually believe I have brought ZERO makeup items this month. The first month in a good two years at least! Anyway, I have resurfaced some oldy but goodies, and also carried some over from March, and had some in my stock to try out during this month as well so I still have a new set of faves worth talking about!

So during April I have been to the Gadget Show Live, and also spent 4 days in London when I went to see the WWE with my boyfriend (yes we are massive Wrestling fans). When I was in London, I had 3 of the 4 days spent with no makeup on (not counting the evenings out.. they were televised events after all haha). Which were surprisingly refreshing! Don’t get me wrong here I love my makeup and I love the process of putting it on, trying new products and trying new looks. But I also love my makeup free days just as much! I felt like out and about, fresh face and basic hairstyles are really what a girl needs every so often, and I know my Boyfriend loved it too as my getting ready time was at least an hour less than usual!

I had heard so much about this Micellar Cleansing Water on YouTube. And I have admittedly tried a couple of these products before and not really had an amazing effect which would forever change my skincare routine for the rest of my life. So I thought you know what? I will give this one a try. I purchased the ‘on the go’ size in 100ml to see what I thought about it (quick tip: the ‘on the go’ size is a great place to start as most places offer this at £1 or even 99p in their offers!). I poured this onto a cotton pad and wiped my face and it really did melt everything off of my face. I was hesitant of trying it on my eyes as if you have read my blog before you know I am weary of using anything other than the stated ‘eye makeup remover’ on my eyes. But I was brave and tried and it even took my waterproof mascara off (I did have to wipe a couple of times for the mascara, but ah well). As I said, it really does take absolutely everything off of your face! If you have come in from a night out or a late shift at work like me and cannot be bothered with your skincare (don’t worry I won’t scold you.. I do this sometimes too!) this product is perfect for you. I was then pretty wary about how it would change the texture and oils in my skin the next day. I find it so hard to control my oils sometime as it is! But honestly I didn’t notice a difference. I won’t go into too much detail on this product, as I have a post specifically for skincare in the works. A very detailed post which will drop all the tips and tricks!

A Moisturiser for Combination to Oily Skin – specifically for controlling oils and giving a Matte textured effect literally made me so excited. I had seen this for such a long time and can remember picking it up quite a few times and putting it back. Now I think I can’t cope without it! What baffled me was when you squeeze a tiny amount into your hands (because that is literally all you need) it already looks kind of matte before you even apply it to your skin?! It doesn’t give off a liquid shine or a gel finish. Legit matte for days! The first places that my shine appears throughout the day is in between and above my eyebrows and down my nose, and along my chin (classic t-zone terror). This product has really helped to control the shine and yet still lets my skin be smooth. I don’t need to exfoliate the heck out of my skin and my myself dry and flaky in order to have a matte effect!

This one you may have seen previously if you are one of my lovely regulars to my blog! This one came back out of my collection again after a few weeks of lots of late nights and early mornings. The salmon colour really helps to neutralise my dark circles which I have regardless of a 10 hour sleep (my wonderful family genes). However late nights just seem to make them look even worse, so applying this in a morning after I have moisturised completely wakes my eyes up and I feel more alive! It has a lovely cooling sensation and along with the metal iron shaped end which you gently pat around the area and help the skin absorb the product and its ultra cooling and completely helps to tone down my puffy morning under eyes! An early shift or any type of early start to the day could not be the same without this product! It is a slightly pricey product in my routine, however not having to use much of the product and not seeing anything similar in the drugstore departments also makes the purchase even better!

For my UK subscribers, this product is unavailable to us, as I purchased this in Ulta in the Contour Sculpting Kit. But if you own a Setting Brush by Real Techniques the brush is incredibly similar.

This brush has changed the game in my Contour routine. I purchased this at the same time as my Anastasia Beverley Hills Contour palettes and I am so glad I did! It is similar to duo fibre brushes in texture, design and softness! Not only does this make in incredibly seamless contour on your cheekbones without a great deal of blending, but it is amazingly easy to clean due to the different sized bristles! It deposits the perfect amount of product exactly where you need it! Because it is duo fibre alike, it is great for cream and liquid products also!

This was a limited edition colour as far as I know for Gerard who teamed up with Manny Mua from YouTube. However by clicking the link I have linked the permanent colours they have! I love the product its self. It is super matte and as the wand is smaller than most, applying the product is really precise and evenly controlled (I struggle so much with Liquid Lip products, I manage so make my lips even more uneven than they are!).

The colour is a beautiful Mauve shade and when swatched against my incredibly fair skin it almost has a coral undertone! It lasts a really long time on my lips too, which is an understatement to say I have the driest lips ever.

Now then, I seem to have a love hate relationship with this particular Liquid Lipstick. I have it in two shades, this shade is definitely my favourite. And the colour or the lasting effect of the lipstick isn’t the problem! Applying the product however is another story. I wish I had taken a photo of this but I am not at home writing this post right now. The wand tip is literally about 3-4cm long. Which doesn’t sound huge, but trying to aim the wand in the exact area you want and applying the right amount of pressure to get the right amount of product is really difficult! I sound like I am complaining over nothing I know, but I do hope they take a look at this issue in the future and I have seen a couple of similar complaints. I am sure with a good amount of practise I will be able to get it, but at the perfect price point and the perfect colour range (the Lip Lingerie line are all different shades of nudes and undertones of browns) hopefully this doesn’t put beginners off all together! Once it is on though, the colour stay is fantastic!

The swatch is showing the Lip Lingerie on the right, next to the Gerard Cosmetics product previously mentioned. It has lovely pink undertones in, which I am sad are not showing through combining my ultra fair skin and natural lighting! I guess maybe combined with your lip colour instead of skin colour would of been a better swatch!

I have decided Becca is my favourite brand for Highlighters, the colour pay off and the time it lasts on your skin is completely worth the splurge! I used to say Champagne Pop is probably my complete favourite and staple item in my collection however since picking up Opal in Sephora on my Miami trip I have completely switched and used this so much more! Although Champagne Pop I love for going out and feeling completely flawless in, this colour is great for your day to day looks if you feel highlighter is a day to day necessity.

What I love about this colour is it is the perfect balance of rose gold with champagne undertones. If you’re fair skinned like me, this is a perfect shade for lightly dusting over your contour and blush. However if you are after that complete bronzed sunkissed look, this or Champagne Pop is also perfect for you, just make sure you use bronzers to balance out the tones on your face!

I am SO happy that the Beauty Blender range is more available in the UK! I know longer have to pay ridiculous priced to get my hands on this range! And since I have discovered the BlenderCleanser Solid I can’t remember how I cleaned my sponges before?! you literally wet the sponge and rub into the solid cleanser balm at the bottom of the little tub! I also love the silicone brush cleaner that comes with this, very easy for on the go spot cleaning your brushes! At £14, this product is a staple. I now clean my sponges everyday as they cling onto product a lot more than your brushes do, and soak it up and you are spreading more dirt than you realise on your face without the sponge looking dirty! And the fact that is doesn’t even look used yet after a solid every day or at lest every other day use after two months means I cannot even take a guess at how long this would last!

So that is all my current favourites for this month! I hope you enjoyed. I cannot believe it is already May what is going on! I really need to get back into a routine with blogging and a lot more looks and informative posts are to come I promise!